Phil Reisman: Theories abound about 'true conservative'

Feb. 26, 2013

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That question has been circulating through the maze of Westchester County politics ever since Colucci emerged as a challenger to County Executive Rob Astorino.

Colucci’s name recognition is about zero on a 10-point scale. He’s never held public office.

He’s billing himself as a “true conservative,” but he has a less than a snowball’s chance in hell of bumping Astorino off the Conservative Party line in the 2013 election. Astorino didn’t get the Conservative endorsement in 2009, but he would seem to be shoo-in this time around because the party chairman, Hugh Fox, works for him.

So what gives?

There are a couple of theories floating around — one of which is laughably far-fetched.

According to this theory, Colucci’s far-right candidacy was deliberately created by the Astorino campaign in order to make the Republican incumbent appear more moderate and, therefore, more palatable to, say, middle-of-the-road Democrats and independents. This suggests that Colucci is nothing more than a stooge.

Mike Edelman, the veteran political consultant, said it simply does not make political sense.

“Rob has been the fiscal conservative and in my opinion he’s overdone it,” Edelman said. “So I can’t see legitimate criticism coming from the right because Rob has done exactly what he said he would do.”

Propping up a phony attack-candidate whose principal talking point is that the county executive has not done enough to pare county government would only serve to hurt Astorino.

Under this scenario, Colucci’s candidacy is being sponsored by two fascinating figures in the sticky web of Westchester politics — Dr. Giulio Cavallo, the mastermind behind the Independence Party, and his political ally, Sam Zherka, the mischievous newspaper publisher, real- estate mogul and strip-club operator.

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The Independence Party accounts for more than 22,000 enrolled voters, a bloc that is coveted by candidates, especially Republicans, in a county where Democrats outnumber the GOP by a nearly 2-to-1. Astorino’s victory in 2009 was largely owed to Cavallo’s endorsement.

After the election, Cavallo and Astorino supposedly had a falling-out. Cavallo didn’t get the respect — i.e., patronage — he thought he deserved.

So now, he’s out to do Astorino in.

Or maybe Zherka is.

Or maybe they both are.

Assuming Colucci doesn’t get the Conservative endorsement — and that is a safe assumption — it’s quite possible that down the road Cavallo could slip him the Independence line. In a close race, that could pave the way for a Democratic victory in November.

This should bring joy to the two Democratic front-runners, county Board Chairman Ken Jenkins and New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson.

Bankrolling the Colucci effort presumably would be the deep-pocketed Zherka, who has thrown his money around in past elections. His most eccentric foray into local politics was backing David Spano, who briefly, but memorably, ran for county executive against his father, Andy Spano.

Colucci, who is a project manager for Chief Fire Prevention, a Mount Vernon-based mechanical engineering firm, said Monday that he is a legitimate candidate who will take support where he can find it.

He said he was neither a “fan” of Bramson nor Jenkins and did not want to see them win. Nevertheless, he reiterated his belief that Astorino betrayed conservative, tax-cutting principles by relying too heavily on borrowing to close the county’s budget gap.

“Look, if there’s any political vendettas, I’m not part of it,” he said. “This isn’t about Rob Astorino. For me, it’s completely about my hometown, Westchester County. It’s about the founding principles that made this country great. I’m the true conservative in this race.”

Colucci said he offers voters a third path to break the two-party grip.

Zherka said he has only talked to Colucci on the phone, but as the publisher of the Westchester Guardian he plans to meet with him just as he would with any candidate. He denied he was already favoring Colucci.

“No, I’ve been out of politics,” he said. “I’ve been concentrating on my business. I’m not behind anybody.

“But I can tell you that Astorino has been lying to the public. He’s bonding and borrowing just to pay the bills. Has he really been keeping taxes at bay? No, he’s not.”

Zherka said he was supporting Colucci, but it wasn’t a contradiction.

“I support everyone to run,” he said. “I think there should be 55 people running for county executive.”